Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Caraway and Martin Luther King III promote non-violence at youth summit
DALLAS – Local leaders will join forces with parents and youth to promote citizenship and non-violence at the fourth annual youth summit on Saturday, June 20, 2009.
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway will headline a panel of local elected officials as part of one local ministry’s commitment to stopping inner-city violence among teens and young adults. Martin Luther King, III, will also return for the fourth consecutive year to challenge youth and parents to get involved in their communities during the event titled, “Peace: the Final Frontier; Stopping the Cycle of Violence in our Community.”
“We envisioned this program as an opportunity to change lives,” said Rodney Dulin, Minister of Central Pointe Church of Christ in southern Dallas which has hosted and organized the previous three events. “We have graduating seniors who attended their first youth summit as freshmen who finished high school without on incident of violence on their records. We believe this program and others like it played a part in that.”
Free registration begins at 8:30 a.m. with the summit starting at 9:00 a.m. Lunch will be provided followed by a free basketball tournament featuring Utah Jazz star C.J. Miles, a graduate of Dallas’ Skyline High School. Local agencies and support groups for victims and their families affected by violence will also be available
“Much of what we become when we are older is directly related to the choices we make when we are younger,” said Miles, who attended last year’s summit. “I want to help kids in my hometown make good choices so they can be successful.”
Dulin hopes parents, teachers and those who work with youth will take advantage of the opportunity to gather information on how to stop the cycle of violence in the community, or maybe even in their own homes.
“Our children have so much potential if we can get them focused on the right things. In addition to showing them where a violent lifestyle can lead, we need to open their eyes to other opportunities provided by a disciplined, non-violent lifestyle choice.”
The summit is sponsored by the Multicultural Development Center in partnership with the Southern Youth Leadership Development Institute and will be hosted by the Central Pointe Church of Christ Youth Ministry, which is located at 7440 S. Westmoreland in Dallas. For more information, call (972) 296-5502.
